AN: Okay, so this chapter pretty much sums up episode four. Next few chapters might lead to episode five depending on how often I watch them. After that I might just throw in ideas from the show and Legacy and combine them. Thanks everyone for your reviews, I'm enjoying them ^^

Chapter Eight

"Why can't I go with you?" Mira demanded when she glared at Tron. Beck was already getting ready to leave as he was told where to meet Tron in the Outlands. Apparently Mira herself was forced to stay in the safehouse until it was over. That wasn't going to fly well with someone who had lived on her own for most of her life. "I mean, I've dealt with these guys before, I can deal with them again!"

"The last time you 'dealt' with them it left you with those." Tron was focusing on the scars - scars that should have been kept hidden. Mira's face burned when she realized she could no longer hide her past. She grimaced at the thought of programs feeling any sympathy towards her.

"Look, these came from a long time ago," she tried to explain. Beck was trying to stifle his laughter while he waited for Tron to finish his argument. She rolled her eyes and glared at him. "Besides, if I received them than that means I'm able to survive through anything," she added warily.

"If it makes anything easier she did prove herself in the games," Beck pointed out.

Mira was about to shout that she could take care of herself, but Tron folded his arms and stared at her with his steely gaze. With a sigh of frustration she finally gave in and whirled around, forcing back the urge to pout.

"We'll be back soon," Tron promised as he led Beck out of the safehouse.

Thanks for the warning, she thought bitterly.

Once she was left alone she knew exactly what she was going to do next. Tron may have had a strong hold on the safehouse, but that didn't mean he could boss her around. She had been on the Grid long enough to know what she could do next.

A smirk fell upon her face when Mira grabbed the baton at her waste. When she reached the garage she saw that Tron had taken any batons that might have been available. Tron didn't take into account that she might have a baton hiding beside her waste.

She rezzed the baton into a light cycle and sped off towards Argon, where she knew Beck was headed. She had already put on the disguise that best suited her for the situation. Since Able and the others at the garage already knew what she looked like, hiding her face was the best option.

Soon the lights of the city began to take over as she used her light trail to pick up speed. If Tron was watching than he would have disapproved of her decision. Finding Beck was important, especially if she wanted to have a say in this mission. Sure enough she spotted Beck chatting with a program outside the garage.

"Thanks Zed, I owe you one!" Beck shouted as he rezzed his light cycle. Mira hid behind some boxes that were ready for shipment as he sped towards her. She suddenly stepped out and smirked when he pulled on the breaks. "Who are you?" he demanded. The white suit made him look more like a leader than anything else. Mira noticed that the white 'T' mark had glowed even brighter than it had when Tron was wearing the suit.

"What, you don't recognize me?" she asked in an annoyed voice. Beck's eyes widened in disbelief when he realized it was Mira. Her smirk grew wider until she lifted her mask. "Tron may act like the big bad watch dog, but he can't keep me locked up forever," she added.

"If Tron catches you out here he'll just send you back," Beck said when they both began to speed off towards the Outlands.

"Yeah, and I'll just end up hiding somewhere until he's gone," she shot back. "Besides, you said yourself that I've proven myself."

Beck didn't say anything at that. Instead he focused on the path ahead. Mira revved her light cycle forward until she was in the lead. Soon they came upon hills that overlooked what appeared to be a ditch in the distance. Confusion swept over Mira when she noticed that there were soldiers and guards circling the ditch.

Mira fell behind when she saw that Tron was catching up with Beck. He was wearing a black armor suit, with a few white circuits here and there. If he found out she'd sneaked out than she would never hear the end of it. She rolled her eyes and remained icily silent as she trailed after them.

Once the two of them reached the hills they turned their light cycles back into batons. Mira hid herself on the other side of the hill, but she could hear them as though they were right beside her. Her eyes widened in disbelief when she saw that an object of some sort loomed ahead where the guards were circling the ditch. It turned out that the ditch was actually a huge crater that a drill had been digging into.

"I think I found the source of our blackouts," Beck said.

"Greed and stupidity; a dangerous combination." Mira fought back the urge to laugh when Tron said that.

She was about to show herself when a recognizer flew by. Without warning she landed into the snow, covering herself so that no program could make out who or what was hiding in the snow. Icy cold immediately gripped her, but she tried to ignore it.

"If that drill hits the energy pool..."

"We'll lose all our power," Beck finished for Tron.

"Our lives. Tessler's about to cause a massive explosion that will destroy Argon."

"So we kill the drill. So what do I have to do? Take out a few guards, blow it up?"

"You wouldn't make it."

"Hey-" Tron cut him off before he could protest.

"You wouldn't. You'll have to go through the tunnels."

"The... tunnels?" Beck had asked the question warily, as if he was hiding something. Mira leaned forward as if she could make out what else could be heard.

"Yes, plant this on the drill to cause a meltdown. When that bomb goes critical, make sure you're far away."

"Tron... these tunnels, the Argon race is about to take place. Inside them."

"Then go, now, stop this drill or no one will be finishing that race," Tron suddenly ordered.

Mira heard his light cycle take off as Beck headed towards the crater. She saw this as her chance to take off, and she did. No one was going to stop her from taking on Tessler or his guards. She didn't care what kind of punishment would follow when Tron managed to catch up with her.

Tessler doesn't care what happens to the city, she thought angrily.

She rezzed her light cycle forward until she caught up with Beck, who looked over his shoulders to see her coming. He pulled on the breaks and came to a halt when she caught up with him.

"Mira, how did you-" She cut him off with a wave of her hand.

"I managed to get past Tron because I told you - I'm going to help no matter what," she snapped. "And don't try to stop me either, I want in on the plan."

"I wasn't planning on stopping you," Beck said. "The drill's up ahead, let's get going."

The two of them sped ahead, using their light trails to gain speed. Mira felt a rush of excitement course through her as she wondered what would be up ahead to greet them. A bout of guards were surely keeping an eye on the crater. General Tessler himself might be there waiting for them, or one of his commanders.

Once they reached the tunnel that led to the drill, Beck began to climb up.

"I sure hope these things pack a punch," Beck grumbled when he pulled out bombs that Tron had given him.

"You're derezzed!" Mira gasped when a guard swung his disk towards Beck. She reached for her light sword when Beck slammed into the ground. The guard quickly jumped down and was about to kick Beck once again when Mira swung her light sword into the guard's thigh. She avoided a side kick and jumped into the air before swinging her own leg into the guard's chest, knocking him half-way across the tunnel. A beeping noise suddenly echoed throughout the tunnel, and Mira whirled around to see that the bomb had been detonated. Beck lunged for the bomb, but the guard had managed to trip him once again. With one more roll of her eyes Mira grabbed the bomb and turned it off before it could blow up in the tunnels.

"And that's how you stop a bomb," she said when she tossed the bomb towards Beck. He'd managed to knock the guard into unconsciousness after she'd grabbed the bomb. "You sure you know what you're doing?" she added when they climbed to the top.

"Of course I do," he replied with a grin. "Come on."

He led the way across the crater, to where one of the commanders had lined up the guards. Mira recognized him as the commander who'd led them to fight to the death in the coliseum. Her first clenched together as she imagined swinging her disk into his throat. The last words that came out of his mouth would be 'have mercy'.

Beck gave her a look that told her to remain silent. The commander was addressing the guards as if he was the superior program. Mira rolled her eyes and glared at him until Beck pulled her behind the drill.

"Paige may have tolerated your incompetence but I won't. There's a new boss in town, and that boss is me! That's right it's me, the big cheese, the head honcho..." Mira began to drone out his voice as he went on and on about how great of a leader he was.

Gee, someone doesn't have issues, she thought.

Beck began to climb to the top of the drill, while Mira followed. Once they reached the top he placed the bomb on the side of the drill before looking at the top of the crater. Mira saw a faint green light glowing in the distance, signaling to something that was about to start.

"Oh no, Zed," he grumbled.

"The race is about to start, isn't it?" she asked warily.

"Yeah, and if we don't hurry those programs will get killed," he told her.

Mira followed Beck once again as he led her towards the tunnel. By now the guards were back at work as they were forced to take double shifts.

"So who's this commander that thinks he's so high and mighty?" Mira asked when she rezzed her light cycle.

"Pavel. He's the one who led us to the coliseum, remember?" Beck was about to grab his baton when Mira realized that it had been cut in half by the guard. "Great, now what am I going to do?"

"Here, get on," Mira said. She wasn't one to share light cycles, but she knew that Beck would need to get a move on.

He took the lead and sped forward until they reached a bridge connecting to another tunnel. Sounds coming from the other side of the tunnel told Mira that the race had started. If they didn't work fast than all of the programs would be killed, including them.

"Ah come on, think fast." Beck was becoming more frustrated each passing nanocycle, until finally he reached for another bomb. "You might want to take a step back," he added when he threw the bomb onto the bridge.

Mira did as she was told for a change and waited until the bomb exploded before them. The bridge was taken out as piles of rubble fell onto the ground below.

"That's one way to stop them," Mira said as she looked across the tunnel's edge.

"They're still coming." Beck focused on the light cycles that were coming in fast.

Without warning Mira jumped down from boulder to boulder until she was within striking distance of the light cycles.

"You three might want to stop this race," she said in a flat tone.

"Who in the User's world are you?" One of the programs had pulled to a stop and stared at her in alarm. Because of the mask that hid her face she appeared more menacing than ever, or Beck's appearance had frightened them.

"And what do you care what we do?" the skinnier program with green circuits demanded.

"Who else would I be but the renegade? And this is Tron," she explained when Beck came down to join her. He glanced at her in confusion before shaking it off.

"There's a drill at the end of this tunnel with a bomb on it. When it goes off, an inferno will rip through these tunnels. Now go." Beck spoke as though he had led these programs before. This time it was Mira's turn to look impressed as she tilted her head to one side. He really was beginning to improve with his actions as the renegade.

"We don't have time to be messing with you renegades," the darker-skinned program muttered. "So we'll go."

The two of them turned around and sped off, leaving behind the green-circuited program to stand there in shock. "But what about the race?" he cried.

"You were losing anyways!" the skinnier program called back.

"You'd better go before that bomb goes off," Mira said when the green-circuited program just glared at them.

Beck shot her a look that told her to close her mouth before anything else was said. "We'd better be going too," he told her.

"A bomb huh? I'll take care of that, thanks for the tip." Mira whirled around to see that Paige had been listening to them. Her eyes widened when the commander sped off, heading straight for the drill and the bomb.

Mira hopped on to her light cycle and sped off before Beck could told her what to do. She wasn't about to let Paige do something so stupid. Paige may have been a commander but that didn't give Mira the right to leave her behind and get derezzed.

She was surprised to see that Beck had caught up with her already. She looked at his light cycle and saw that he had taken the program's cycle.

"Keep moving, we have to catch up with her!" Mira rolled her eyes at Beck's order and sped forward when he took the lead.

For someone who'd taken a light cycle it was surprisingly fast. She wondered if the cycle had been modified for the race. If so than maybe she could get her own light cycle modified.

"Paige, you don't know what you're doing!" Beck cried out when he rammed into Paige's light cycle.

"I'm bringing order back to the Grid. I don't think you know what you're doing." Paige managed to kick Beck out of the way before she tried speeding forward.

Frustration burned within Mira as she rezzed her light cycle forward until she was side-by-side against Paige. Soon they reached the tunnel entrance that led to the drill. Mira's eyes widened in horror when she realized that the bomb had reached critical.

"Get out of here!" Beck shouted at Mira. She glared at him while Paige spun around her cycle and nearly knocked Mira aside.

An eruption of blue flames suddenly funneled towards them. Mira cursed under her breath and followed Beck as he sped forward. Of course Paige was too stubborn to accept any help. No thanks to the commander she was putting all of their lives at risk.

Beck was gaining on Paige, using his light trail to gain extra speed. Mira followed suit, though it was difficult not to feel the heat of the flames as they tore through the tunnels. Beck suddenly reached for his disk and began drawling fractured lines.

"What are you doing?" Mira called out when she managed to catch up.

"Buying us some time," Beck replied. "You need to get out of here. You know who will kill me if you're not out safely."

"No program has ever cared about my safety before," Mira shouted with a roll of her eyes. Paige had suddenly fallen behind, and she was listening to their argument intensely. "Why should they start caring now?"

He was about to say something else when the tunnel around them began to collapse. Mira pulled forward and was quickly followed by Paige as piles of rubble fell behind them.

"Keep going, it won't hold for long," Beck ordered.

Mira looked over her shoulder to see that he was right. Sure enough the inferno had blasted through the rubble. Paige was still behind them despite the speed she'd been gaining earlier.

"Your bike's not fast enough, get on." Beck slammed his light cycle into Paige's, nearly knocking her over in the process.

"In your dreams!" Paige snapped.

"Come on bit-brain, just do what he says," Mira called over her shoulder.

Paige's eyes narrowed into tiny slits until she was pried off of her light cycle. Beck used her distraction to grab Paige before speeding forward. Relief washed over Mira when she realized that Beck had rescued Paige just in time as her light cycle was derezzed by the flames.

"I just saved your life, a thank you would be nice," Beck muttered when he fell in beside Mira.

"My life doesn't need saving!" Paige reached for her disk and was about to swing it at Beck's neck when Mira rammed into his light cycle. Paige faltered and glared before Beck grabbed his own disk. "Really, you need that?"

"It's not for you!" Beck threw his disk forward into a pile of rubble that was blocking their way. Mira saw what was coming and swerved her light cycle until she was hanging upside down. "I just saved your life, again." Mira could almost hear the chagrin in his voice, and she forced back a bark of laughter.

"Let's just finish this." Paige grabbed her disk once more and was about to make another attempt at assaulting her rescuer when Beck swerved to the right.

"You may not have to," Mira told her. She looked over her shoulder to see that the inferno was closing in fast. Up ahead was another tunnel, and she prayed to the Users above that it was an escape.

Suddenly Beck pulled on the breaks when he reached the end of the tunnel. Mira jumped down to join him, nearly slamming her light cycle near the edge of the ledge. Beck had tossed Paige aside and came to a stop before looking back at Mira.

"See you around," he said before speeding forward.

"Have fun with Tessler!" Mira shouted and followed Beck.

Soon they came to a stop near the city's edge and Beck pulled off his mask. Mira grinned when she pulled her own mask off.

"That was fun," she said. "I have a feeling that Tron won't be too pleased when we come back."

"No, he won't." Mira flinched when she heard the all-too-familiar voice. She whirled around to see Tron leaning against his light cycle. He was wearing his mask as usual, but she could imagine just how livid he really was. "Of all the irresponsible, User-like qualities you could possess!" She tried to drone out his voice while Beck stood beside her.

"I couldn't have done this without her though," he pointed out. "You keep forgetting that she's done this her entire life."

Mira gave Beck a thankful look before glaring back at Tron.

"Are you going to keep me trapped in the safehouse?" she demanded. "If so than I'd be better off living on my own."

Tron looked between Beck and Mira, as if he were studying them. Mira folded her arms and continued giving him a defiant look. Finally after what felt like cycles Tron gave in and sighed in frustration.

"Alright, I can see you'll just put yourself in harm's way no matter what I do," he grumbled. "You can take part in the missions, as long as you stay with Beck."

I think I'm beginning to like the idea of that, Mira thought as she forced back the heat that was rushing to her cheeks. Finally she could prove that she had more use than she ever did on her own. And this just led her one step closer to defeating Clu and his followers.

AN: Paige is probably one of my favorite characters in the Uprising verse. Pavel is probably my least favorite. On a side note, I'd like to say that I might be gone for a few days after this. With the Avengers coming out on DVD I'll be in full Avengers mode. Can't wait to see it again :D

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